Paige Mahoney has escaped the brutal penal colony of Sheol I, but her problems have only just begun: many of the fugitives are still missing and she is the most wanted person in London. As Scion turns its all-seeing eye on Paige, the mime-lords and mime-queens of the city’s gangs are invited to a rare meeting of the Unnatural Assembly. Jaxon Hall and his Seven Seals prepare to take center stage, but there are bitter fault lines running through the clairvoyant community and dark secrets around every corner. Then the Rephaim begin crawling out from the shadows. But where is Warden? Paige must keep moving, from Seven Dials to Grub Street to the secret catacombs of Camden, until the fate of the underworld can be decided. Will Paige know who to trust? The hunt for the dreamwalker is on.

Rating:

I enjoyed this book much more than the previous book. The bone season felt a bit overwhelming with the information-dumps in the beginning, but I had no problems with The mime order. The details are spread throughout the story and instead of being lost, I felt wrapped inside this world and its characters. Spoiler-free if you haven't read both books.

“Matters of the heart are quite beyond me. Hearts are frivolous things, good for nothing but pickling.” – Jaxon.

This was an exciting journey. Paige managed to escape from Sheol I with other fugitives, making them the most-wanted people in London. Scion is looking for them and to keep herself covered, Paige has to return to work for her old mime lord Jaxon. I like how Paige tried to stand-up for herself and the truth around the danger of the Rephraite. She wasn't ready to bow to Jaxon and I found it admirable. Her life becomes even more complicated when the Underlord and his gang are murdered; the battle for the new Underlord is about to begin.

What I love about the plot is the complexity, but how is refrains from becoming too dense. The political intrigue behind the Underlord and the brutal fight at the ending were exactly what I needed. That scene made my heart pound and Samantha doesn't spare her characters, so I had some frightened moments there. The twist at the end made my mouth drop (I was expecting it in the last couple of pages, but still, WELL DONE) and I wish the next book was already there, because it's going to be hard to wait.

I liked how we got more details about voyants and what happened; how the Rephraite came into the world and gained power. I think I'm going to have to re-read The bone season, because like I said in the introduction, the world-building overwhelmed me in the beginning. I felt there was a better balance in The mime order and I want to go back to explore it again.

Paige was a very strong character. She is realistic and intelligent, although sometimes a bit rash in her decisions. I warmed up for her and felt more connected to her than in The bone season. I had the same with Warden and their scenes together were great. Their romance is on the background and that gives a perfect vibe in the story. There is a tension between them and you are ready for it to explode. The secondary characters are also fleshed out, like Jaxon and his obsession with becoming the new Underlord for power and money.

19 comments

Well I'm quite excited now seeing that you enjoyed this one much more than the first book. I only rated Bone Season 2-stars but I was hoping Mime Order would be better since I'll admit I am curious to see where this will all go, with the characters and the world. I like that Paige is back where she belongs this time around and that we get to see how the events in book 1 changed her! Hopefully I'll like this one just as much as you did!! Brilliant review Mel^^ ♥

I'm thrilled that you enjoyed this one too Mel! It took me a while to get into this one (maybe I needed to re-read The Bone Season again just before), but I loved it when it all started kicking off. I especially loved the build up to the scrimmage. Like you I certainly need more in the series asap! Lovely review Mel! :)

Yay! So happy you loved this book, Mel :D I haven't read book one yet, as I DNFed it on page 150 :p But I did get this pre-ordered. And I want to give book one another chance, since so many love these books :) And you did too. So glad you enjoyed this one sweetie. <3 Thank you for sharing your thoughts :)

I have read so many great reviews of this book lately that I am now convinced I have to read this series. I love complex stories and I like how you mention it doesn't get too dense, sounds like the author got the right balance. And the world building sounds so well done, I think that's one of the things I am going to like about this series. Great review Mel!

Great review, Mel! I actually DNFed The Bone Season - I just couldn't connect to the story and felt distanced from everything. :/ But maybe I'll pick it back up in the future. I'm glad to hear that this one worked better for you!

You know, someone was telling me recently that the Bone Season was a bit like Game of Thrones. You're thrown in there to understand this whole new world. Shannon could've split the books up more to slowly acclimate us to the magic... like with Throne of Glass. We're slowly seeing it turn into a more epic high fantasy, with stakes across continents. But Shannon started her first book with us three feet into the waters already, and that can be difficult for some readers. Anywho, your comment on the info-dumping reminded me of that convo, and since you like Throne of Glass, I thought I'd share that impression.

"The details are spread throughout the story and instead of being lost, I felt wrapped inside this world and its characters." -- Yes, though I can't say I completely understand the magic of the world, I do think that she made the right decision in continuing TMO without explaining more, so that we could be more fully immersed in the world.

"I like how Paige tried to stand-up for herself and the truth around the danger of the Rephraite. She wasn't ready to bow to Jaxon and I found it admirable." -- Right??? I really like Paige as a character. I think Shannon has done a great job making her as a sort of Everywoman (but also not b/c clearly Paige is in a very unique position with very unique powers).

"What I love about the plot is the complexity, but how is refrains from becoming too dense." -- right?? "The political intrigue behind the Underlord and the brutal fight at the ending were exactly what I needed." -- RIGHT??? I think my favorite bit of her plots is how cinematic they feel. Always got that epic battle with about 100 pages at the end for it. It's really cool b/c I feel like not every book that's supposed to have BIG events at the end devote as much time to that. Though I may have been less shocked than you at the ending because I started to think that that was what the big reveal would be.

"I had the same with Warden and their scenes together were great. Their romance is on the background and that gives a perfect vibe in the story. There is a tension between them and you are ready for it to explode." -- Totally agree, although I'm so ready for there to be more too! ha, I LOVE THE OIL AND FIRE.

"There is only one thing left to say: I WANT MORE." -- GOOD SUMMARY!!!

I agree, I think it would have been better if she was more like Throne of glass. Game of thrones can definitely be a little overwhelming at times like The bone season, but I'm happy how she dealt with it in The mime order.

I don't often see action scenes in front of my eyes, but it was like a movie and holy cow, it made my heart beat faster like I was there.

I loved this book too! I think Warden might be my favorite character in the book but I love seeing more about Jaxon and Paige of course. All the political stuff was very interesting and Samantha's writing superb. Can't wait for the next book!

Phew, so happy to hear that you didn't have the same problems with this one as you had with The Bone Season. I was overwhelmed by the details - I still don't know if I've got the world down - so I was a little scared by this book but I feel much better now.